Epilogue - Reunion With The Quill
The early morning sun hardly bothered Sunrunner as she narrowed in on her destination. Ponyville was thankfully easy to get to from Canterlot, given that you could see either settlement from the other without little trouble, but that hardly made her task easier as she landed in the town square. She had an address, true, but she’d never been to this town, and getting around was going to be far easier said than done. Especially given the town lacked street signs.
Sunrunner had to wonder about that. Granted, if the place was small enough, ponies wouldn’t need street signs to navigate it, but still, it certainly looked big enough from the sky.
She spied a building that resembled a gingerbread house, a plump-looking middle-aged mare in the shop window turning a sign from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’ and decided to try her luck. She went up to the door and entered as a bell chimed to signal her arrival. The mare turned back to her in surprise. “Oh! Good morning, and welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! You’re a fast one!”
The pegasus smiled politely. “More like a lucky one, ma’am.”
“Well, no matter, we’re happy to have you. Passing through town?”
“Trying to find a resident, actually. I have his address, but this is my first time in Ponyville.”
“And you need directions?”
Sunrunner nodded and gestured towards one of the fresh baked goods out and ready for customers. “And I’d like a bagel too, please.” If she was going to take up the mare’s time, she should at least buy something while she was doing so.
“Of course, dearie.” Money and food were exchanged, then the elder mare glanced over her guest’s destination. “Oh, I know the stallion who lives there! He comes by here twice a week or so for baked goods. Muffins, usually. What’s your business with Quiver, by the…?” She stopped when she saw the expression on Sunrunner’s face and smiled. “Nevermind, I think I know what’s going on.” She then wrote out some directions and passed them on. “These should get you there in a jiffy. And good luck!”
“Thanks, ma’am!” Sunrunner then exited the shop, took a bite of her bagel, then took flight to try and find where she was going. Thanks to her updated information, it took very little time indeed to find where she was going, just long enough to finish off her food and come in for a landing.
It was a modest little place, one that couldn’t have had more than two bedrooms. She wondered idly if both were occupied, partly because she wondered if Quiver could afford a place like this on his own, and partly because a tiny part of her still wondered if he’d moved on and left her behind. It didn’t seem like him, but still, ponies can change. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.
She was about to knock on the door, but paused. What if Quiver had changed? What if he’d forgotten her, or thought that she’d abandoned him and just put her out of his mind? What if…
No. She came all this way, and regardless of how things turned out, she was going to see it through. Steel yourself, Runnie. Remember that poem he wrote. She then closed her eyes, and began to recite it.
“T’was a blessed day, when she called me friend.
That word lifted my spirits, and gave me joy without end.
Whom am I to thank, who’d cause my soul to mend?
She who would run with the sun.”
“A treasured heart, that’s her gift to share.
Among those cruel souls, she made known her care.
You’ll find few finer, upon this I would swear.
She who would run with the sun.”
“Though wounded by monsters, she would stand tall and brave.
In places of cruelty, paths of kindness she’d pave.
Faced with a monster, she’d name them as nave.
She who would run with the sun.”
“She’s ever at my side, when push comes to shove.
Her spirit’s like an eagle, her heart like a dove.
Who is this fair maiden? The one whom I love.
She who would run with the sun.”
When she finally opened her eyes, she stood in surprise at the stallion before her. He carried himself a little taller, and looked more at ease than she’d ever seen him, and perhaps a little better physically, but the important things were no different from how she remembered them. The same slightly messy brown mane, a little tamer with age but hardly any different. The same earthy brown eyes, deep with intensity and pain, but not so deep that she couldn’t see herself reflected in them. And his voice…
“Runnie?”
It was Quiver Quill. And he hadn’t changed a bit.
A nervous smile spread across her face. “Hey Quivs. Long time no see.”
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Excellent ending and epilogue, Echo.
Looking forward to the final part of the Trilogy.
Keep up the rad work, hun: you're doing a wonderful job.
9143835
Thanks. I'm still hoping to have the next story done before the end of the year, but work and other commitments are kicking my butt something fierce right now.
9143842 You're very welcome.
Yeah, real life can be a bitch, can't it?
Sorry to hear you're getting hammered so hard right now with work and stuff, and I hope that things calm down for you soon.
As to the getting the next one before the end of the year; well, we still have 4 months left to go in 2018 yet, so maybe something will come up that you can get the third one written, done and up here.
I don't really have anything profound to add, so I'll just give you my upvote and my usual advice that real life is more important than pony and we're all willing to wait as long as you need to put things in order before writing.
This was a great story! Perfectly connected to Quiver's and a good place to end then transition the the third part of the trilogy.
Don't worry about real life, you take whatever time is necessary for you to create something extraordinary.
Dang, that was an amazing story ... feel bad for Quiver and Runnie, their school was a worse version of the shithole I went to. Loved seeing them reunite, though! Squee'd like a schoolgirl there. And I'm glad that Bit and Digit aplogized, even if they half-assed it. And I'm not surprised that Flim and/or Flam won the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 off of Bit ... well, mostly that they came by it in less savory means rather than the specifics.
Okay, I got to the ending now. And I am quite glad that I did, I really liked seeing Sunrunner's reunion with Quiver.
Good work as always, friend. ^_^
And also, I wish you the best with stuff in real life.
Good stuff. I especially look forward to seeing what ends up happening to Primrose when things come to a point. (Of course, I think that what I expect deviates from the tone of this verse, so we'll see).
9144051
Fairweather owes a tiny bit to an assistant principal I had in middle school, who sticks out in my memory as being something of a jerk. Not nearly as bad as Fairweather, but still, not someone whom I harbor good feelings for.
Muriel's return later in the story was something that had to happen as soon as I decided she was in the story. Sunrunner needed a reason to care that she'd be moving schools, and I've been wanting to include a character who wasn't a pony for a while, even if for a minor role.
That flashback to just after Sunset leaving Equestria was also something that I felt needed to be included in the story, and it gave me the chance to help smooth things out regarding how much Cadance knew about her. I also couldn't resist the book-ends of starting the main story with Sunrunner meeting one princess, and ending it with her meeting another. As far as that shadow goes, well, we both know it's well on its way to lifting.
9143855
Fingers crossed.
9143878
Much appreciated, thanks.
9143944
Thanks.
9144146
I never specified that it was Flim and/or Flam that won it. For all the terrible things you can say about them, those two would be sensible enough to try and mass-produce that thing if they had the plans. Instead, they just had the prototype, and enough knowledge to operate it. There's at least one more link in that chain.
9144151
Glad that you've enjoyed the whole story. Real life willing, there won't be a long wait for the next one.
9144299
Primrose has already gotten one strike against her, as described in Scars of the Quill. And ponies like her tend to eventually bite off far more than they can chew. So yeah, she's gonna see trouble before too long.
9144746
Oohh, I hope that her downfall is hilarious!
9144757
Time will tell.
9144733 Indeed.
Got mine crossed, too.
9144757 As do I.
And I hope that both Quiver and Runnie have a front row seat to witness it.
I also hope that, eventually, Twi lets Runnie know that she found Sunset, and where she is.
But only time... and our dear Echo... will tell on that one.
9144830
So far as Sunset goes, I'm just gonna say this - the same day that Quiver and Sunrunner reunited, is the same day that Sunset got a message in her journal from Twilight regarding Sunrunner from the second epilogue to A Shimmering New Year. Make of that what you will.
9144888 Okay, that's good enough for me.
9144733 Makes sense ... now I'm wondering if they flat-out stole the prototype. Either way, I expect there's probably a helluva story in there.
9145397
Time will tell.
Absolutely excellent job on the reunion in this epilogue. The exchanges and characterizations were excellent done and I will very certainly be looking forward to the final story in the trilogy.
9147434
Glad that you enjoyed the whole story. With any luck, I'll have the next one out before the end of the year, though I doubt I'll be that lucky.
All caught up and loving this universe.
Somehow it slipped my notice that the lost love and the cousin left behind were the same mare.
Can’t wait for the next part!
9196076
Well, to be fair, I didn't make that explicit until late in the game. Glad that you've enjoyed everything so far - I've got new stuff coming little by little over the next couple months.
This seems like an interesting universe... and only on finishing this one do I start to suspect I missed a few others. Will look to rectify that. This was a very well told story.
9838106
Thank you, and thankfully for you, it shouldn't be too hard to track down where things started.